The Old World
by JustChrysalis
Summary: I never thought... I never thought Lucifer would do it... I didn't think my whole world would come crashing down... Now I have to trust him, and go through this thing, or be here. Alone. Forever. This can't possibly end well... [May become M]
1. Chapter 1

"Respond," The radio crackles urgently, "Unit 7-D, this is Central, respond." I pick up the radio and comply, "This is Unit 7-D, Central, where'sthefire?" A short laugh comes back out, followed by a serious response, "No fire this time, 7-D, but you won't like this one much more than a fire. We got word of fifteen C-class converging on your position. Not sure if they want you or the city, but if they want the city they're rather understaffed. They're coming for ya, 7-D, so get your cyan ass out there and give 'em what they came for." A smile spreads across my features as I grab the rifle to my right, and stand up out of the rickety, metal pre-war chair. "10-4, Central. I'll show these C's how a level 7 handles things."

"Don't get cocky, 7-D," The radio urges, "They may only be C-class, but we both know that a level seven can't beat fifteen at once. You need a diversion."

"10-4, Central, but..." I look through the window at the big green beast outside, "The diversion is already in place."

 **-))((-**

A roar and a stomp later, and all fifteen C-class swarm the A-class outside. It's a well-known fact that A-Class, while horridly dangerous when led by an AA-Class, or an S-Class, are completely, horrendously, hopelessly stupid and docile. It's also well-known that C-Class hate them vehemently, and will swarm to attack an unled A-Class in a heartbeat. This works perfectly for me. I stand atop my building, aiming for the skulls of the C-Class. Unlike those lucky-ass Level 5 and above, we Level 6-25 don't have Cybernetic Aim Modules, or CAM.

That's right. I have a rifle with no CAM. I'm ten stories up. I'm trying to headshot these fuckers. Genius.

Though, my origins are rather helpful. I'm not from around here, a whole other world, in fact, is my home. I'm a Pegasus among humans, as well as these extradimensional beasts I'm trying to headshot. What's the point of this? Pegasi can fly. Pegasi can fly _FAST._ Pegasi can fly fast with _THEIR GODDAMN EYES OPEN._ In short, my eyesight is 20/1, or rather, 400/20. In comparison to a human at least.

In short, I'm slaying. SLAYING. **BAM!** Brains paint the asphalt. **BLAM!** That piece of skull kind of looks like a penny. **KRAKAM!** How have they not noticed me yet? **KAKABAMALAM!** Chunky salsa, bitch.

I quickly finish off the remainder, and the A-Class hadn't even noticed that anything happened. I glare at the human-like crocodilian corpses littering it's feet, and, had I thumbs, I'd have given the big green T-Rex a thumbs-up for being an awesome distraction. But, of course, I haven't, so I don't.

I smile as I re-enter the building and sit back down in my chair, setting the rifle beside me, and call in. "Central, this is 7-D." Static for a moment, before a response, "You gonna get to those C-Class, or just let 'em run you over?" I give a short bark of laughter, "HA! As if. They're painting the concrete as we speak, Central. Mission Accomplished."

"Good work, 7-D! Keep it up, you'll make 6-D in no time. Then you'll get to actually do stuff, and take on those special missions you've been dying to do." I give a chuckle in response.

"You'll finally give me a permanent residence and actually important jobs now, you mean." Static.

"Ahem, er, well... Yes. That's... That's exactly what I mean, actually. Uh..."

"Hey, it's alright. Nobody blames you for not giving any of you soldiers permanent housing. Except, you know, the soldiers, but hey, who care what they think, right? You pay 'em to fight, not think." I smile, knowing I'll have successfully made him uncomfortable with that.

"...This brings you up to 45 Credits, now, right?"

"Damn right, Central. I'll be expecting those when I check in next, alright?"

"Your points have added up to... 98.8%. You'll be here for promotion by the end of the week, 7-D." A smile spreads across my face. I had no clue I was that close. Promotion bring with it a multiplier to payment, unlocks more dangerous and better paying jobs, and, of course, makes you feel better about yourself because YOU JUST GOT FUCKING PROMOTED. I can't wait to cash in the Credits I've earned for this job. 20 Credits a day, and I've been here three weeks... I'll be able to buy one of those synthesized beds so I don't have to sleep on a ratty hundred-year old bed.

"I'll be there shortly. Anything else I should be aware of?"

I can almost hear the radio shut off from the other end before I can finish my sentence. Eh, must be busy. I grab a cloth from one of the drawers, and I start polishing the barrel of my gun.

 **-))((-**

One day later finds me getting called in again. "7-D, 7-D, this is Central, come in, COME IN!" It yells urgently, almost fearfully. "What the fuck happened?" I forgo protocol, this seems a bit more serious than protocol. "SSS-Class." My eyes widen to saucers and my pupils shrink to pinpricks. Not HIM.

SSS-Class, codename 'Lucifer' is the most powerful, deadly being to come through the rift. It's been proven by field-test after field-test that he is immortal. The planet is in this sorry shape because we tried to nuke him. Five times.

"Get the hell out of there, Carlos!" I yell, but I can almost hear him shake his head.

"I can't. I'm on the top floor, he's on the bottom, I'm a weak little human, and he's a god. It was nice knowing you, 7-D. Sorry... This may be the last time I talk to you, fuck protocol. Dash, listen. He can't get what we have. If he gets his hands on the intel, there's no telling what he'll do with it. He'll be able to open a portal to anywhere. ANYWHERE. Now, we know he doesn't like getting his hands dirty, Dash, so we'll us that. If he opens a rift, you go in first. Protect the people. It's your job. I shouldn't have waited so long to tell you, but-" He is cut off by the sound of a massive explosion, ripping through the existence of everything. Static, and nothing else follows.

I sit back in my chair, completely disbelieving, but then the radio cuts back on, I lean in hopefully, before I'm crushed once more. " **THIS IS A PRE-RECORDED MESSAGE. IF YOU ARE HEARING THIS, THEN CENTRAL HAS FALLEN. IN THIS CASE, [LUCIFER] HAS DESTROYED THE TOWER BY MEANS OF [EXPLOSIVES]. INSTRUCTIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS; [RETREAT],[REBUILD],[PROTECT]. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION, FAITHFUL SOLDIERS OF THE APOCALYPSE. REPEAT.** " It repeats. I stare. It repeats again. I continue staring. This continues for many cycles, before finally, I snap. An ungodly wail of pure anguishis all that comes from my mouth for the next ten minutes, barely stopping in between to wails to breathe in.

The next hour is spent curled up on the bed, weeping, holding the 'Best Friends' locket me and Carlos made together fifteen years ago, before we even joined the Apocalypse Armada. I lost a good friend today. It doesn't matter what I do from here, does it? I only joined because he did, and only stayed for the same reason. What's it matter if I quit, if I give up?

I wipe my eyes, and try to dry my tear-soaked fur. I grab the rifle, and set off to do what my best friend wanted. I have to follow Lucifer.

 **-))((-**

I count it among many blessings that Lucifer hasn't left the Central yet. The creature fits its name perfectly to tell you the truth. I'm far from Christian, no god would allow this to have happened, but he looks exactly as the devil is supposed to, drop dead gorgeous. Flowing blonde locks, charming smile, lightly tanned skin and bright blue eyes. He is the very definition of dreamy. Too bad he's a nightmare.

He holds a small box, painted black, with a few wires sticking out. The CPU. He has the information, all the information he needs to open a portal and lay siege to another world, one less prepared for the coming of the demonic armada than this one, possibly even my own home dimension.

He must be stopped, but there's nothing I can do really, to stop him. I could attack, shoot him with my rifle, but all that would do is draw att- "You." He says aloud, in a soft, yet firm voice, "I know you are there. I may not see you but I sense you and I would advise you to not try and stop me, this rubble a testament to what happens when I am impeded."

"Your world will be left alone, this I promise, once I have these secrets. There is no need to try."

He's right. There's nothing that can be done to stop him anyway, after all, right? No! I have to... I have to go! I have to fulfill my friend's wish! If I fail him, he'll have died for nothing. I can't let a good man die for nothing.

"You wish to stay, then. Very well, but do not disturb or otherwise impede me, if not in interest for those of this world, then for your own health." I peek out from behind the small pile of rubble I've been hiding behind, and watch as he magically cracks open the box and opens a holographic screen like a computer, navigating the files. He quickly stumbles upon the warp drive diagram. I get nervous. If he has a warp drive, he could instantaneously transfer troops around the- "No."

He next opens a plan for a nuclear bomb. Oh shit, oh shit. If he has a nuke, he'll turn our most powerful weapon against us, we don't have many anymore, so we'd be powerless to- "No."

My eyes narrow. This is going to take a while.

 **-))((-**

I was right. 53 false alarms later, he finally finds the rift drive he'd been looking for the whole time, and, as it turns out, he has no interest in any sort of alternate machine whatsoever. A relief, if only a slight one, but now he knows how to produce rift drives, enabling him to conquer other worlds.

I follow him from a 'safe' distance as he brazenly walks into a Walmart, and starts gathering metal and the like. Within an hour, he has a fully functional rift drive. Suddenly his face looks like he just realized something, something hideously, stupidly obvious. "You wanted to use the rift drive, didn't you?" I peek out to where he can see me, and I respond to him, short, and to the point. "Yes. It was my friend's last wish. You killed him."

"Well, I can allow that." He opens the portal, and does nothing, except for look at me expectantly. It can't be this easy. He can't just be letting me fulfill my friends wish. He must have some ulterior motive.

"Why?" I ask, and he looks at me puzzled.

"Hmm. Why indeed..." He turns to look at the high ceiling. "I've lost someone close to me too. His last wish was, 'Jackson, make me a sandwich.' Before that was 'I want somewhere safe for our people to live.' Our world is dead, as is yours. I tell you, I understand." He turns to me, "And I've decided to find an uncivilized world. It was foolish to try to conquer a world. Mark wouldn't have wanted that. I will send you somewhere you won't be alone. You can make new friends, ones like yourself. We... we will leave any and all sentient races alone. We've caused enough damage as-is."

"And what if I refuse?"

"You stay in a dead world. ALONE."

"How can I trust you?" His eyes narrow, but then he closes them with a sigh.

"You can't."

I sigh. I have to take his word. If I try to take a loophole, he'll destroy me.

"I... I..."

He looks at me with wide eyes, almost begging me to answer, which is odd from a being who could destroy us all instantly if he so chose.

"I... Acc... Accept."


	2. Chapter 2

I steel myself, facing the gaping wound in time-space. Where will it send me? I tug at my rifle strap, thankful for the matter converter. I'll never run out of bullets so long as I have something of similar value to transmute. Problem is, will it still be useful?

I'm a magic pony. The world I come from obviously won't be very hostile. Lucifer says that's what's at the other end of the rip. Can I believe him, though? I have to. I close my eyes and sigh, taking a step forward. Hesitantly, I step back, and look at Lucifer. He raises an eyebrow.

"I may have an eternity, Miss, but you don't. I'd be happy for you to make a decision," He says neutrally, nodding to the tear. I sigh. "I-I'm just..." I stammer.

"I understand, Miss. It isn't like you can trust me." He closes his eyes, nodding, "But I have no history of lying, do I? It's a fifty fifty chance, either way, you see. Roll under 11, you end up in a parallel to this world and nothing changes, or you drop into lava, or empty space. Roll over 10, you find yourself among your own kind."

I nod sadly. "I..." My nerves are too fidgety and glitch right now. There's no choice. "Kick me through."

Lucifer looks at me like I'd grown a good thirty heads. "What."

I sigh, looking away, "You heard me. My nerves are shot. My oldest friend is dead. I can't do it myself, no matter how bad I want it. Kick me through."

"..." Lucifer continues to stare, before crossing his arms across his chest. "You, Miss, make a good point." He goes on, "I felt similarly when Mark died. Very well."

He pulls back his leg, readying himself to kick me. "Brace yourself."

 **-))((-**

I don't remember much of the few minutes following the kick, just a lot of colors. When I finally come to, though, I find myself sprawled across the ground, in a cave, in front of a small, gnarled, white tree. There are six branches, and they all have indents in odd shapes. _This looks retartedly important... better not fuck with it._ I stand, cautiously, slowly, but still fall back to the ground. I'm still in so much pain from the journey. I think my legs are broken, too, actually... fuck.

A quick flap of my wings tells me that, against all odds, they just so happen to NOT be broken, which seems unlikely. _Damn. Spending so much time with Carlos made me smart. I actually KNOW this shit._ I try my best, and eventually manage, to stand just enough to get up in the air. Of course I have a rifle, ammo, and a transmutation agent on my person, so I'm not going to be able to keep this up too long, after all, the straps will chafe, especially considering how they cross over my chest and rub up against my wings.

I look around, and quickly find an exit to this cave. Funny how an exit was so easy to find. I fly out to find a forest, with a decrepit castle at my back. If my legs weren't so damn broken I'd have pulled my gun for reassurance, but it'd just hurt too much in my current state, unfortunately.

I shiver in midair, and fly higher up, above the treeline. Looking at the colorful town a long ways away over the sea of green, I almost fall when it hits me like bricks. Trees. I've never seen live trees before. The world I've lived in. There's no... no trees there. _Trees_. I have trees now. My eyes water, staring at the beautiful green expanse. _TREES_.

" **TREEEEEEEEEES!** " I screech in joy, doing a loop-the-loop, a barrel roll, and various other tricks, all fuelled by pure glee. A smile adorns my face like expensive jewelry, and I shake my head. _I gotta find a safe place to land... the town. The town will be perfect. And it's close enough that I can still stare at these beautiful_ " **TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!** "

 **-))((-**

 _Be cool, be cool._ "Could you direct me to the nearest hospital? I've broken all my legs." _Goddammit, Dash._ The brown stallion in front of me looks... shocked. "Well," He says, "You seem to be handling it well, at least. You can find the hospital that way," He points down a street.

I bow my head, saying, "Thank you sir, sorry for the inconvenience."

He smiles, saying, "No inconvenience here, Miss. I'd hate to let somepony have broken legs and no hospital. Just common courtesy."

I smile, "Thank you," and fly as quickly towards the hospital as I can without crashing into someone. These buildings in town are ridiculous. Thatched roves? Fire hazard. Pink? Fruity to the max. Cobbled streets? Okay, fine, that's okay. Building proportions? Holy shit it's like magic.

The hospital isn't any exception. It's pink. Its roof is thatched. The second floor is bigger than the first in ways that shouldn't be possible. I groan, hoping at least that they'll be able to take care of me... or even be willing to take care of me with the promise for later payment.

I grunt, trying to push open the doors, while airborne, without my legs. I succeed, and find myself facing an ivory mare with pink hair and a red cross on her ass. _Okay, Dash, You got it this time, be cool, be cool._ "My legs are broken, please help. I can't pay right now but I could work it off if you need." _GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, DASH!_

The mare gasps, "PAY? I would never ask a pony to _pay_ when they clearly need help!" _The hell? I don't have to pay? Go Canada._ "Come with me, er, set down on a stretcher, I'll take you to get some casts for now!" I do as she instructs, my wings finally getting their much-deserved rest. _Man... free healthcare. Carlos would've-NO. Don't think about him right now._ She rushes me down a hallway, and finds a doctor.

"Doctor Fracture!" _The hell? I know I got a 'pony name' but that's just ridiculous._ "This mare has broken all her legs!" The grey stallion turns to see me, and exclaims, "My word!" In the most _**effeminate**_ way. "How did this happen, Miss...?"

I groan, but not for the reason they might think. "I'm Rainbow Dash. I got my legs broken... when..." _Play it cool, be believable, don't fuck up this time, third time's the charm!_ "I got kicked through a hole into a cave by a monster." _You fucking moron._

"Well, next time you'll avoid the Everfree, eh?" he scolds me, before setting me up on a table. _Wait, what._ He grabs the gauzey stuff you make casts with, and, after, making sure my bones are properly aligned, wraps them up, and sends me on my merry fucking way.

"We'd normally keep you for observation," he says, opening the door for me, "But you got here by yourself without making it worse, so it can't be too bad. If you get tired, just light on a cloud. In a few weeks, you'll be fine." I nod to him as I fly off. Alright, then, these ponies are gullible, naïve, and, most importantly, have stupid names. My mind grinds to a halt, and I whisper, "on a cloud?"

I shake my head. This is unimportant. I need money, I need a job, and I need a house. This will take time, effort, and no small amount of saying stupid things that end up making perfect sense to these naïve wierdos. I groan. This is going to take time.

 **-))((-**

So, apparently, I can touch clouds as if they were flying pillows. That statement hurts my brain. And yet it's TRUE. Also apparently, Pagusai... Pugusis? Paguguiansasdsadghsdvfhgjafvjtwydfgvewajcf... PEGASI control the weather. Weather men, but they're right. Every. Damn. Time. I hate this fucked up place. But at least it's a simple enough job that even _I_ can't fuck it up, right?

Still, I'll have to wait a while. With these casts on, I won't get much of anything done. Still...

I flap my wings, steering my cloud around like a space rowboat. IN _SPACE._ Eventually I find myself up next to the coordinater of the whole thing. She's a butter yellow pegasus with pink hair and butterflies on her bum.

"Hello?" I ask, and she jumps. IN MIDAIR. She make a cute little squeak sound, too. Cute. "Um, I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm here to apply for a job... I obviously can't work until my legs heal, but..." I stare at her, and she looks like she's having a heart attack. "Are you okay?"

She shakes her head, and turns slightly away, mumbling, "I'm fine... you just startled me is all..." She turns to me, and says, a bit louder, "I'm Fluttershy. I run the animal shelter, but I also run the weather station..." She then adds in a whisper, "because nopony else knows what they're doing, trying to lead..." She sighs, before shaking her head.

"I, um, I can... I can look for an opening, if you want. This is an Earth Pony town, so there's usually an opening, even though it's usually hidden." I smile at her, and I say, "Yes, actually, that would be wonderful. I need some way to earn my keep around here, right? I mean, showing up out of the blue with broken legs..." _Goddammit Dash, five minutes. FIVE MINUTES._

"Oh, uh...hmm..." Fluttershy puts a hoof to her mouth. "You don't have anywhere to stay then, do you?" I nod the affirmative neutrally, knowing I can take care of myself in the open. "Hmm..." She mumbles a bit, then asks me, "Would you mind animals?"

Blood flashes before my eyes, psychotic beasts on a rampage, destroying anything and anyone in sight. "I do not like animals." I shake my head violently, trying to get the image to leave me.

Fluttershy blushes. "Well, I guess I can't help you out there, then... maybe make a temporary home of clouds?" My brain grinds to a halt again. "House? Of... Clouds?" Fluttershy gives me a strange look.

"Uhm... yes? You've never done that before?" _Coolness, Dash, coolness._ "I've never even seen a cloud like this before." _DEAR GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?_ Fluttershy gives me a sympathetic look, saying, "Wow. You must have come from far away. I'll give you some clouds, so you can build a little temporary home."

I rub the back of my neck, "Err, thanks, Miss Fluttershy." She smiles back at me.

"No problem, Miss Dash, I hope you have a speedy recovery." Her expression turns inquisitive, "But would you mind telling me what you have strapped to your back? I've never seen anything like it."

I blanch, and quickly say, "Oh, it's just something I picked up, keeps away monsters and stuff." _Real cool... Dumbass._

She seems to accept that, and I count it among my blessings. "Well, I'll see you again when you're all healed, then, Miss Dash."

I wave as I cloudboat off, "Yeah, see you then, Miss Fluttershy." _She's nice. Seems to have a lot on her plate, too. I wonder how she does it? I couldn't take that much... probably._

 _Still, I'm safe, I can survive here, and as soon as my legs heal, I've got a job. It could be worse._


End file.
